New interviews of Taylor Schilling from the ‘Orange Is The New Black’ press junket

Taylor Schilling (Piper): “One of the things I like about this show being labeled feminist is that it really embodies the idea of intersectionality. We don’t separate feminism from transgender rights, from the LBGT community, from the issues of poverty and how socio-economic status impacts women, race, or gender identity. The show embodies everything that makes feminism what it is today, as opposed to what it was fifty years ago.”

“OITNB” has never been a show to shy away from incorporating current-day cultural movements — women’s equality, police brutality, Black Lives Matter — into its plotline, but according to Schilling (Piper Chapman), the goal isn’t to make a political statement, per se.

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No matter the writer’s intent, viewers will be able to find character struggles relatable somewhere within the new season’s story.

“[The] deeper you dive into the personal, and the more rigorous you are honestly telling someone’s story, the more universal it becomes and then that becomes a political act because you have people seeing seeing themselves in people they once viewed as ‘other,’” Schilling said. “That is radically political.”

The fifth season lets viewers see exactly how each of the inmates choose to cope during dire circumstances within the prison.

“It’s so compressed. It’s just these three days, it’s like racking up the intensity to 11. It’s maximum stakes, constantly,” Lyonne, who plays Nicky Nichols, said. “So, I think that for us, it was an intense and just a wild ride. Still, though, we shot it over six months, so I imagine that for viewers it’s going to be even that much more intense.”

The new season is crucial for everyone, not only for the characters closest to Poussey.

“[OITNB] is telling a story as truthfully and as close to the bone, to get into the marrow. Hopefully, that’s what great art does; it sparks a conversation, because everyone can see themselves in it,” Schilling said.